Clothing & In-Kind Donations
Donating clothing and other items to The Blue Ribbon Project is a powerful way to support abused and neglected children in our community as well as children and youth in Foster Care. Many of these young people face challenging transitions without access to basic necessities, and your donation makes a significant and powerful difference in their lives.
Through our various programs, The Blue Ribbon Project provides new clothing and other items to children who often enter Foster Care with little to nothing of their own.
By donating, you’re helping provide dignity, comfort, and a sense of belonging to kids who need it most. Your contributions will ensure that they have clean, appropriate clothes and other essentials, which can positively impact their confidence and well-being.
Things to Note for Donations in General
When seeking to donate clothing and other items to The Blue Ribbon Project, there are a few essential things to remember:
- All items should be brand new (except for gently used books).
- Please leave tags on all articles of clothing; however, the price can be removed or hidden. We've found that when the children receive brand-new items with the tags still attached, it makes a tremendous difference to them, and their reactions are visible.
- While we ask that all items be new, they do not necessarily have to be expensive. When you are out shopping, those pajamas you see in the Clearance Aisle are perfect!
- Every item counts! Even donating something as small as a toothbrush makes a tremendous difference.
- The Blue Ribbon Project has a Greatest Needs page. This page is updated regularly and when donating items to The Blue Ribbon Project, please review our greatest needs page to see how donations can be most effective. This page can be found --HERE--.
- Donations are gladly accepted at our facility in Crownsville or at any of our partner donation drop-off locations. A current list of locations can be found on our Donation Drop-Off Locations Page.
Donating Backpacks for Backpacks of Love
One great way for you to help support our mission, is to donate completed or partially completed Backpacks of Love. If you are building a Backpack of Love, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Building a filled and completed Backpack of Love can get expensive. The average cost of a completed Backpack of Love can run between $100 and $150.
- Please do not feel obligated to fully complete a Backpackd of Love. A partially filled Backpack of Love is still a perfect way to make a difference. If you donate a backpack that only contains a few articles of clothing this is perfectly fine.
- When you are building a Backpack of Love, whether completed or not, please use the checklists found on our What's In A Backpack page. As you add items to your Backpack of Love, please check off each item as you add it. This list should be included somewhere easily found in your backpack.
- Our Leadership Team members check all incoming donations of Backpacks of Love. Your included checklist is extremely helpful to our team in quickly determining what items may not have been included. For example, if you have built a partially completed Backpack of Love but did not include toiletries, these items should not be checked off or should be otherwise noted as missing on your checklist.
Items We Accept for Donation
We accept a wide variety of items to support our programs. Every item counts, no matter how small.
- Diapers, from preemie to Size 6.
- Pull-ups, sized 2T through 6T.
- Baby Wipes.
- Diaper Cream/Rash Cream.
- Lotion for babies through young adults.
- Shampoo for babies through young adults. This includes a variety of shampoos for different styles and textures of hair.
- Soaps and bodywash for children through young adults.
- Baby items, including pacifiers, baby bottles, head caps, bibs, teethers, burping cloths, and receiving blankets.
- Clothing for all ages and sizes (shirts and pants). This includes clothing for preemie babies through older youth, sized XXXL.
- Socks, including babies through adult sizes.
- Underwear, including younger children through adult sizes.
- Pajamas for both younger and older children.
- Sleepwear for young adults.
- Combs and brushes for babies through adults.
- Hair ties and barrettes.
- Deodorants.
- Feminine hygiene products, including both pads and tampons. (Small carrying cases are helpful too.)
- Toothbrushes and toothpaste for children through adults.
- Nightlights.
- Books for all ages.
- Toys for all ages.
- Writing journals, including pens and pencils.
- Small blankets or quilts. (Due to generous and ongoing donations from the Friendship Quilter's Guild of Linthicum, we usually have many custom quilts on hand.)
- Stuffed/plush animals for younger and older children.
- Sippy cups.
- Children's spoon and fork sets.
- Gift cards from various retailers, including Door Dash and Uber Eats.
- Gift cards for various venues to help support our Foster Friends and Celebrations Club programs (e.g., Get Air, Hyperkidz, Skate Zone, etc.).
- New backpacks.
- School supplies.
This list is not exhaustive. If you have questions about particular items, please Contact Us to inquire.
Items We Are Unable To Accept
There are items and articles we are unable to accept. We are unable to accept:
- Used clothing, including "Gently Used."
- Clothing and other items that reference family. This includes clothing that says things like, "Daddy's Homerun Hitter" or "Mommy's Little Princess," etc.
- Furniture.
- Appliances, including small appliances.
- Mattresses.
- Recalled Items.
- Expired Items.
- Food.
- Cribs and Car Seats.
- Religious Items or items that reference religion.
The Blue Ribbon Project has made it a point to partner with other regional non-profits that may accept the above items. While we do not accept the above items, we can work with you to find a much-needed home for them. We will be more than happy to help facilitate this.
Foster Friends
If you were to think back on your most memorable childhood moments, what would they be? Swimming with friends? Riding a bicycle? Scoring the winning goal in a soccer came? Now, put yourself in the shoes of an abused child and imagine what his or her most memorable moments would be. Frightening, isn't it?
Speak Up...Speak Out Child Abuse Awareness Training Program
One of the best tools in fighting child abuse is having the ability to recognize it when it's occurring. When abuse is discovered, it is often learned the abuse had been occurring for some time, however, the signs were overlooked. In our Speak Up...Speak Out program, the signs of abuse and neglect are discussed and case studies are provided. Please note this presentation shows the true realities of child abuse and there are graphic images that are included with the presentation. In this program, we will discuss the signs of several types of abuse and what to be on the lookout for, what to do when you suspect abuse, disclosures, supporting the child, as well as mandated reporting in Maryland. We will also speak about foster care and the long-term effects of child abuse and neglect.
It should be noted the second half of this program discusses investigations and patterns of injury and is graphic in nature. Our task is not to offend you but to show the realities of abuse within our own communities. Taylor will also discuss his own childhood and how he was placed into care. This presentation is an excellent program and is a real eye-opener intended for adults only. This program is used in the training and teaching of law enforcement officers, firefighters, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Foster Parents, Teachers, among others. We also cover Mandated Reporting in the State of Maryland. A certificate will be awarded at the end of the program. Seating is limited in each of our classes and registration is required. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided This is a free program with no cost to you (but donations are always welcome).
This program is offered publicly at our facility in Crownsville and through virtual private training through various agencies and organizations. We can also come to your agency to present the program. If you would like more information on providing this training to your organization, please Contact Us Here.
Mirah's Closet
When children are removed from their home or other unsafe environment and placed into Foster Care, they lose everything that is familiar to them. They often come into care without any personal items. In 2015, The Blue Ribbon Project launched its Backpacks of Love Program to provide emergency essentials to children the moment they enter the foster care system. Our Backpacks of Love contain essential necessities for kids of all ages who are entering the system. Each backpack is designed to be gender and age-specific. These backpacks include such things as a toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, children's soap/body wash, children's shampoo, changes of clothing for the child's age, personal clothing (underwear, socks, pajamas), and age-appropriate books and toys.
A Hand to Hold Youth Alliance
The Blue Ribbon Project’s Mission is not only to raise awareness regarding child abuse but also to provide a variety of resources to abused and neglected children as well as youth in Foster Care. To this end, The Blue Ribbon Project has developed a youth advocacy program titled “A Hand To Hold Youth Alliance Program”. This program is designed to meet the needs of abused children in a variety of areas. This program is not designed to replace other youth mentoring programs, nor is it intended to replace or duplicate the role of a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).
